One aspect of fishing or hunting which is not considered enjoyable, however, is cleaning the fish or game that are caught by kneeling on the ground. Recreational sportsmen generally find it necessary or desirable to clean and cool their catch soon after fishing or hunting is completed in order to prevent spoilage and to maintain the freshness of the catch. In some circumstances, fish cleaning facilities are provided at the landing where the fishermen unload and load their boat off and onto a trailer used to transport the boat to the lake or river. But in many circumstances, there are no such facilities and the sportsman is faced with either waiting until he returns home to clean the catch (which is not a viable option if the time between when the fish or game is caught and the time the sportsman returns home is too long) or providing his own means of cleaning the fish or game before returning home. Moreover, even where a cleaning station is provided, often such stations are unclean from being exposed in the outdoors and from prior uses in cleaning fish and game. A number of specialized tools are available to assist in the work of cleaning fish, for example. Fish scalers and filleting knives have long been known. Cutting boards themselves are also well known, but the use of kitchen cutting boards is normally not desirable for the purpose of cleaning fish or game as they are otherwise to be used in the kitchen without stains, smells or residue that may be present from cleaning fish and game.
A number of devices have been developed which permit the sportsman to clean their catch when cleaning facilities are not provided. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,254,473 discloses a portable fish cleaning apparatus useful by recreational fishermen to clean their catch at the boat landing or other convenient location, where a fish cleaning board can be supported for use at a position upon placement in supportive engagement with a boat and trailer when in use.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,522,765 discloses a fish cleaning device which comprises a cleaning board with holding means for gripping a fish while it is cleaned.
U.S. Pat. No. 55,649,734 discloses a tailgate box, table and sink which is mounted on the tailgate of a pickup truck during use.
U.S. Pat. No. 55,542,359 discloses a collapsible fish cleaning table which has a tabletop member with an upwardly facing work surface which is supported by collapsible legs attached to the bottom of the tabletop member.
U.S. Pat. No. 55,860,367 discloses a portable filleting table that is supported by foldable legs.
U.S. Pat. No. 55,474,494 discloses a fish cleaning apparatus, which is adapted to be supported upon a container having an upwardly opening mouth (i.e., a garbage can). The cleaning platform has an opening which overlays the opening in the container, and the platform is releasably latched to the container when in use.
U.S. Pat. No. 55,706,740 discloses a portable tree shelf that can be used on a vertical support like a tree. However, the support structure is provided beneath the work table so that the table in not particularly usable when detached from a tree and placed on the ground or other horizontal surface.
Published Patent Application No. US2004/0094071 discloses a strap-on multi functional apparatus that can be attached to vertical support member such as a tree or pier. Again, the support structure is provided beneath the work table. Although the support structure is collapsible, the structure still gets in the way so that the table in not particularly usable when detached from a tree and placed on the ground or other horizontal surface. Moreover, with the many components and folded components, such device is cumbersome to assemble and to carry to a use site, such as by back pack.
These prior art devices are unsatisfactory because they either require other devices that are not naturally provided for support while in use (i.e., a pickup tailgate, boat and trailer or a container) or, if they provide their own means of support (i.e., legs or lower brackets), they are cumbersome to assemble, bulky, difficult to transport and are limited to uses as they are specifically supported (to a vertical support, but not on a horizontal surface like the ground).
Other references of note include U.S. Pat. No. 3,590,423 to Messer; U.S. Pat. No. 3,785,008 to Parker; U.S. Pat. No. 4,229,858 to Baxter et al; U.S. Pat. No. 5,098,338 to Jensen; U.S. Pat. No. 5,116,279 to Perry; U.S. Pat. No. 5,474,494 to Sims; U.S. Pat. No. 5,522,765 to Dotson et al; U.S. Pat. No. 5,609,521 to Alfred et al; U.S. Pat. No. 6,254,473 to Shore; and France patent no. 1486784.